Japanese cruiser Chōkai
Service
- as Chōkai30 June 1932 — 20 December 19441,937 days of the war
- Name
- Chōkai
- Namesake
- Mount Chōkai
- Builder
- Mitsubishi
- Laid down
- 26 March 1928
- Launched
- 5 April 1931
- Commissioned
- 30 June 1932
- Struck
- 20 December 1944
- Fate
- Scuttled after gunfire/bomb damage in Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944 (1944)
- Status
- Wreck
Specifications
- Displacement, standard
- 15,781 long tons (16,034 t)
- Length
- 203.76 m (668.5 ft)
- Beam
- 19 m (62.3 ft)
- Draught
- 6.3 m (20.7 ft)
- Speed
- 35.5 knots (65.7 km/h, 40.9 mph)
- Range
- 8,000 nmi (14,816 km)
- Complement
- 773
- Main gun
- 200 mm (7.9 in)
Chōkai was a Takao-class cruiser in service with the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was named for Mount Chōkai. Mitsubishi laid her keel on 26 March 1928. She entered service on 30 June 1932, having been launched on 5 April 1931.
Her class ran to four ships. The class followed the Myōkō-class cruiser and was succeeded by the Mogami-class cruiser.
Displacement was 15,781 long tons. She measured 203.8 m (669 ft) long with a beam of 19 m (62 ft). Her designed speed was 35.5 knots, and she carried a complement of 773. Her main battery was of 200 mm (7.9 in) calibre.
Her belt armour was 102 mm (4.0 in) and her deck 35 mm. She carried two aircraft.
She was in commission for 1,937 days of the Second World War. She was struck from the register on 20 December 1944.
She was scuttled on 25 October 1944, at 11°22′N 126°22′E. The wreck survives.
Written from the harvested record. Every figure above is sourced; the wording is this site's own.
Armament and machinery
Armament and machinery
- Propulsion
- 130000 hp
- Armament
- Original layout:
- 10 (5x2) 20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun in Model E turrets
- 4 (4x1) Type 89 120 mm in Model B *2 mounts
- 2 (2x1) 40 mm AA guns
- 2 (2x1) 7.7 mm Vickers MG
- 8 (4x2) 61 cm torpedo tubes (4×2, 24 Type 90 torpedoes)
- Final layout:
- 10 (5x2) 20 cm/50 3rd Year Type naval gun in Model E turrets
- 4 (4x1) Type 89 120 mm in Model B *2 mounts
- 38 (4x2, 22x1) Type 96 25 mm AA guns
- 8 (4x2) 61 cm torpedo tubes (4×2, 24 Type 93 torpedoes)
- Armour
- Machinery belts: 102 mm
- Magazine belts: 127 mm tapered to 38 mm
- Main deck: 35 mm (max)
- Bulkheads: 76 mm to 100 mm
- Turrets: 25 mm
- Aircraft
- 2
Sister ships
Sources
- Facts harvested from Japanese cruiser Chōkai on Wikipedia. Figures only — no wording is taken from it.
- Photograph: Presumed official IJN photographer, possibly from the collections of Shizuo Fukui. — Unknown, possibly Shizuo Fukui's collection at the Kure Maritime Museum — Public domain — Wikimedia Commons